


Soul Ink

by ismellitblue



Category: Black Lightning (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Gen, Grace and Anissa are that couple we all love to hate, Other, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, because they're so cute, meeting AU, soulbond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 16:48:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21413425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: Grace an Anissa  shared a butterfly kiss, and unseen by both of them,Jen rolled her eyes.It wasn’t  that she was jealous of her sister-it was just-well, Anissa and Grace had been together since the beginning of time-shouldn’t the romance have died out long ago.Plus did they have to be so lovey-dovey while she was still so—single.OrThe one where in a world full of soulmates Jen is alone.
Relationships: Grace Choi/Anissa Pierce, Jefferson Pierce/Lynn Stewart, Khalil Payne/Jennifer Pierce
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Soul Ink

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Black Lightning.

Grace an Anissa shared a butterfly kiss, and unseen by both of them,Jen rolled her eyes.

It wasn’t that she was jealous of her sister-it was just-well, Anissa and Grace had been together since the beginning of time-shouldn’t the romance have died out long ago.Plus did they have to be so lovey-dovey while she was still so—_single_.

Ok,maybe she was a little bit jealous, but the couple currently making heart eyes at each other over their lunches weren’t really helping.

“So, Anissa-how’s the hospital treating you?Grace, is your comic book store doing ok?”Anissa let out a giggle, batting her eyes at a blushing Grace -Jen was ignored.

They’d probably forgotten this was a farewell lunch _for her_ since she was going to Markovia for a month to compete in the races there.

She swallowed her watery lettuce with more gusto than necessary, trying hard not to look at the way the couple’s soul marks were glowing,sparking against each other.Jen remembered when she’d been younger, and the cheetah on Anissa’s forearm had been the coolest thing she’d ever seen(before her own mark had come in of course).When Anissa had brought Grace home,the cheetah had no longer been a still portrait-it had been alive,moving across her skin as though running through the savannah,and when she’d touched Grace, the other woman’s thunderbird had swooped out from beneath her shirt,the two soul marks coming to dance together where the couple’s skin met.

The spider on their Dad had spun intricate webs over his skin, and the black panther on her mom had left streaks of lightning in its wake when the two had held hands,watching the new soul bond solidify with misty eyes.

The moment had been beautiful, but even then,Jen had still felt like the odd one out, her soul mark stuck in limbo- the snake’s fangs bared.

***

Anissa clearing her throat brought Jen back to the present, and for the first time since their little get together,the couple’s attention was focused on her.

“Are you okay?”Anissa asked, and Jen gulped down her water.

“Me?I’m good,I’m better than okay!”She grabbed her purse, making a run for it but trying not to make it obvious.

“Cover me,”She yelled over her shoulder-why have a doctor for an older sister if you couldn’t dip into her pockets every once in a while.

She walked out without a backward glance, not feeling like seeing the worried looks that often followed her hasty exits.

***

Her family was pretty tight knit , but even then there were things they didn’t talk about.The main one being the subject of Jen’s soulmate .The topic hadn’t always been taboo,in fact Jen had talked about her viper mark almost constantly.Then the day after they’d met Grace,Jen’d collapsed in class-her soul mark burning as it faded in and out.

She’d heard of soulmates dying before they met,but somehow she’d never thought she’d be part of that statistic.It had taken three days for her mark to stabilize,and during that time she’d been curled up in bed,crying for someone she’d never met.

“_I’m right here…I’m not going anywhere…please stay_…”She’d whispered over and over again, overwhelmed by the smell of blood and tasting metal,despite being safe and sound in her own room.

She’d run her fingers over the viper on her forearm repeatedly,trying to offer comfort.

It had been years since then,but she still woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night,only calming down once she could see the mark.

***

There was a moment,right before the gun went off where everything in Jen’s world stilled.She followed the flow of each breath she took, her muscles taut,alive with coiled lightning.Less than a millisecond after the gun went off,she was running.

Her lungs burned and the wind whistled past as she ran.The roar of the crowd filtered through, but she paid it no mind.Using it as nothing more than background noise as she poured power into her legs, all her focus on her goal. Soon enough her fellow runners fell away until it was just her, and no sooner had she broken away-she crossed the finish line.

When the reality of it sank in and she watched her name at the top of the board, Jen took off running again-this time headed for the crowd.

As exhilarating as winning gold was, nothing could really compare to the warmth of the crowd as she touched their hands.She moved through them,not lingering too long,but making sure to share her happiness with them.Right at the end of the line, her hand brushed against a man’s and the rest of the world went away.

Her soul mark burned-electricity moving through it,and she caught a hint of glowing gold beneath his collar.Warm brown eyes met hers, and she was given a blinding smile, Jen only had the chance to smile back for a second before security pulled her back,taking her away.

The last she saw of him, was the absolute heartache in his eyes.

***

“I had him Mom,he was right there,”She leaned into her mother’s touch, letting Anissa braid her hair.

“I know sweetheart,I know, and you’ll find him again,”Two weeks after her soulmate was ripped from her,the words felt like empty comfort.

She was still looking,but with each passing day,she lost more hope.None of the cameras in the stadium showed the man, not only had he been sitting in a blind spot,it was impossible to single him out amongst the thousands of fans leaving, and he’d also paid for his ticket in cash.

There was a chance he’d tried to get in contact with her(seeing that she was a celebrity and all), but given the number of fans claiming to be her soulmate, he’d probably been turned away.

Her viper crawled over her wrist, moving slowly-searching for something- before giving up and coiling there, completely still.After the first day the magic of the mark had seemed to sense that its other half was missing and it had stopped being energetic.

Remembering the glimmer of the scales when she’d touched his hand made even looking at the mark painful.

***

“Dad, I know I’ve been in a rut,for the past few weeks, but I good now,”Her Dad gave her the Headmaster Pierce look and for a moment, Jen wanted to cave and cry on his shoulder, but the immunity she’d developed in her teen years kicked in and she was able to resist.

“Who said anything about you not being good, this is simply a Dad taking his youngest out on a Daddy-daughter date,”Jen looked around at the various artworks on display, and then back at her Dad.

Her father was not a fan of Painkiller’s artwork,but Jen was-the fact that he’d picked the exhibit as the location of their outing was telling.

Instead of continuing her argument, she reached up for a hug-a silent thank you.

***

The outing had gone well, and she’d even managed to buy a few pieces.

Rather that heading straight home, she’d waved her Dad goodbye and took off on foot.Her walk took her to an abandoned train station,and she spent a few minutes just walking around, not even bothered by the heat of the afternoon sun.

Strangely enough, it reminded her of one of the pieces she’d bought-only it had been done in the night time.

She noticed one of the train cars had its door open,and made her way up the ramp-_who_ _added_ _a_ _ramp_ _to_ _an_ _abandoned_ _train_ _car_?

It took a moment to adjust to the semi darkness after being out in the light, and the moment she did Jen was greeted by a drawing of herself.It wasn’t the only one,they were everywhere, covering the walls, on the little desk and on the sofa.

_Great_-she’d somehow wandered into the den of an obsessed fan.

She took a step back, already having decided to make a run for it before whoever it was came back.

A startled-_Oh_! From behind her, had her turning,grabbing a paint brush(not the most effective weapon), but it would have to do.

“Hands up,and stay right where you are,”She growled, provided he wasn’t armed she’d be able to hold her own in hand to hand combat.

***

“If I put my hands up, I’ll roll back down, and I’d rather not fall,”The hooded man said,and for the first time,Jen realized he hadn’t just decided to sit at the entrance-he was in a wheelchair.

He slowly rolled himself all the way in,not taking his eyes off her,and when he was fully in he lifted his hands up.

Jen made to walk around him,keeping the paint brush raised(it wouldn’t stop a bullet if he happened to be packing heat), but it still made her feel safer.She’d almost made it to the door-and was able to see him better with the light streaming in when he let out a shocked breath,and grabbed her paint brush.

She let go off the brush, her balled fist coming up to strike him when she caught sight of her viper.It was no longer listless-it was moving freely-the spark in its scales was back.

Golden light moved beneath his hoodie, abandoning her manners Jen pulled back his sleeve, and right there was golden lightning bolt,coiling around his wrist and trying to jump at her.

***

“You’re a fan of athletics huh?”

“Not really, I used to run track in highschool,then…”He looked down at his legs,his expression clouding before clearing again

“Wrong place, wrong time and the next thing I knew I woke up in hospital not being able to feel my legs,”

_I’m sorry_ didn’t really fit the situation,so she settled for bumping her shoulder against his.A comfortable silence settled are around them.

“Your race was actually the first time I’ve been so close to the track in ten years,”His confession had her sitting up, and in a fit of inspiration she led him outside.

***

“Are you sure we won’t get into any trouble?”

“Nah,I’ve done this countless times, and I’ve never been caught,”It was two o’clock in the morning, and without a soul in sight,Garfield High’s track had an unearthly quality to it.

Somehow their hands had become entwined and Jen watched the snake and the lightning bolt playing an endless game of tag.She smiled softly at the sight, her inner critic pointing out that she was being just as sappy as Annisa and Grace but she was beyond caring.

It made sense to just want to be close to him.

It was like all the answers to the questions she had were in him, and that was all she needed…Annisa was never going to let her live this down.The lowest seat was level with his wheelchair and she leaned her head against his shoulder,smiling dopily when she felt his head rest against her crown.

“When did you figure out your talent for drawing?”He shrugged the move gentle enough not to dislodge her.

“I’ve always been good at it,and once I couldn’t run anymore, I had plenty of time to pursue it,”They stayed like that till sunrise, sharing small tidbits about themselves, and when it became too bright outside, they decided it was time to leave.

***

“That’s strange,it’s Saturday morning, where is everyone?”

“Maybe we should tell them some other time?”Khalil said, his fingers drumming away at his wheels.His nervousness was almost too cute to bear.

A few minutes later the front door opened and her Dad upon seeing her, drew her into a hug that lifted her off her feet.The rest of the family joined in on it, and Jen-after a near perfect night was not in the mood to refuse such a warm welcome.

She hugged them back just as tightly.

“Honey!We were so worried,”Her Mom’s remark brought her back to reality and she got out of their embrace.

“Worried about what?”

“Jennifer you didn’t come home last night,and you weren’t answering your calls-given the last few weeks we had every right to be worried,”Things finally fell into place and Jen felt the first inklings of guilt trying to claw at her.

“Oh-uhm-actually---”After years of searching,she should have just been able to shout‘I’ve found my soulmate!”but she found herself overcome by uncharacteristic shyness, blushing the way she’d done the first time she’d told them a boy had asked her out.

“Sorry you guys were worried,it’s my fault Jen stayed out all night,and I take full responsibility for that,”Khalil’s voice came from behind her and for the first time her family noticed his presence.

***

“And you would be?”Her Dad looked down at Khalil, his eyes lingering on his wheelchair for a bit before going back up to meet his gaze.All of Khalil’s nervousness from earlier was gone and he stared right back.

“My name’s Khalil Payne,”Her Dad looked at him again,then turned to Jen.With the experience of a Dad who’d been beating boys off with a broom since she learnt to bat her eyelids, he quickly figured things out.When his attention went back to Khalil he was in full papa-bear mode, his shoulders squared.

Papa-bear mode had cost Jen many boyfriends in highschool,and she was not risking her soulmate. She moved over to his side.

“Well then-_Khalil_\- what’s your relationship with my daughter?”He looked like he was about to pull the ‘athlete’s foot and shower talk’ so Jen intervened, taking Khalil’s hand in hers.

“Dad stop he’s…”She faltered and Khalil tried to help.

“I’m…”But he ended up in the same place as her.

“_You_ _are_…”Papa-bear mode was now in full effect, complete with the Headmaster’s look of disapproval.

“Jeff stop it-_look_,”Her Mom’s voice diffused the situation, and her Dad actually swayed when he looked at where her Mom was pointing.Looking down Jen realized they were still holding hands and that their soul marks were dancing around each other, unbothered by the awkwardness.

Well,That was one way of telling them.

All the fight went out of her Dad, and he nearly fell on the sofa-then he started crying.

Khalil gave her a wide eyed look, his earlier panic coming back full force and Jen gave him a peck on the cheek before going to join her Mom and sister in comforting her Dad,leaving her soulmate in Grace’s capable hands.

“My babies are all grown-they’re grown”Her Dad kept repeating in between sobs,and were she not also crying Jen would’ve rolled her eyes.

Three years later, on their wedding day, her Dad would swear up and down that he’d handled the news stoically, and had only shed a single tear.Five voices would instantly disagree, but that moment was yet to come.In the present Jen raised her head and looked over at Khalil, he was giving her the softest smile she’d ever seen and she couldn’t help but return it.

It had been less than a day, they weren’t quite at ‘I love you’, but she could see them there in the near future.His lightning bolt made it to his cheek and he winked at her, she winked back,feeling her snake mime at biting her cheek as she smiled.

They were definitely getting to I love you- and soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the story.Comments and Kudos would be highly appreciated.


End file.
